Endless pan or like conveyer



Jan. 19, 1943.

1.. s. BARBER ETAL 2,308,686 I ENDLESS PANIOR LIKECQNVEYER s Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 25, 1939 Jan. 19, 1943.

L. s. HARBER ETTAL ENDLESS PAN -03 LIKE CONVEYER Filed Sept, 25, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Jan. 19, 1943 ENDLESS PAN R LIKE CONVEYER Laurence Seymour Barber and JohnEdward Pointon, Peterborough, England, assignors to Baker Perkins Incorporated, Saginaw, Mich.

Application September 25, 1939, Serial No. 296,504 In Great Britain September 24, 1938 1 Claim. (Cl. 198-137) V (Granted under the provisions of sec. 14, act of March 2, 1927; 357 0. G. 5)

This invention relates to endless conveyers of the type carrying swinging or self-levelling carriers, pans, trays or buckets (hereinafter called carriers) and running in a series of superposed laps. Conveyers of this type usually comprise a pair of endless chains upon or between which swinging pans are mounted so that they may remain level when travelling round the turning.

points at the ends of the laps and for convenience the invention will be more particularly described with reference to conveyers of this kind.

The object of the present invention is to decrease the pitch of the carriers and the spacing interval between the conveyer laps in order to to accommodate a conveyer (having any given number of carriers) in a cubical capacity of less overall length and height than would be possible with known conveyers of the same number of carriers, or alternatively an aim of the invention is to increase the number of carriers per unit run of the conveyer.

Itwill be understood that the minimum pitch of the carriers and the minimum vertical interval between the laps of a conveyer depend upon the clearance required by the carriers and their contents at the turning points.

The invention consists in providing improved means whereby the pitch of the carriers is increased at turning points or in other places where they follow a curvilinear path as compared with the pitch maintained in a straight or horizontal run.

The invention comprises a conveyer having the suspension points or mountings (hereinafter referred to by the term mountings") of its carriers, and its laps disposed respectively at minimum pitch and interval allowed by the dimensions of the carriers and/or their proposed contents and cam-like guiding means adapted to cause the mountings when moving around a turning point or the like to travel in a curvilinear path of sufliicently greater radius than the path of the conveyer chains to afford clearance of the pans and, their contents.

The invention further comprises a conveyer in which the mountings of its carriers are disposed so that at successive turning points the mountings alternately project beyond opposite faces of the chains. The alternate relative disposition of the mountings and the chains may be effected by causing the paths of the mountings and that of the chain to cross one another after passing around a turning point.

The carriers may be provided with mounting rollers connected to the chains by pivoted links or arms, arcuate guiding tracks being provided with which the rollers co-operate to cause them to follow a path greater in length than the path of the chain at turning points.

Further features of the invention will be hereinafter described and defined in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a portion of a pan conveyer adjacent a turning point, taken along line l--l in Figs. 2 and 3.

Figure 2 is an end elevation, and

Figure 3 a plan corresponding to Figure 1.

In carrying the invention into effect in a conveyer comprising chains 9 driving a series of carriers l0 suitable for a bread cooler, the conveyer is provided with tracks or rails II for supporting and guiding the rollers l2 of the chains, and chain or sprocket wheels I3 of the smallest diameter convenient are installed at the turning points so that the laps of the chains may be brought together sufficiently close to afiord the maximum saving in overall height occupied by the conveyer.

Instead of the straight runs of the conveyer being positioned in horizontal planes tangential to the turning point chain wheels the latter may be disposed so that between the turning points the chains travel on inclined paths.

A mounting is provided for the carriers In such that when lying on a straight run of the conveyer the carriers are practically contiguous. Each carrier is suspended between the conveyer chains but for simplicity the arrangement will be described with reference to a single chain. Each of the carrier side plate or suspension frames (4, [5 has a stub shaft or trunnion 16 extending at right angles therefrom and upon which a mounting roller I1 is free to rotate so that the shaft acts as an axle for the roller. This mounting roller I! is adapted to run on the horizontal rail or track II and its axle shaft It has connected to it a link or arm I8, the other end of which is connected to the chain. For example the link or arm I 8 may be pivotally connected to the end of a chain-roller spindle or sleeve so that the chain drives or drags the mounting roller along the horizontal rail or track II.

The side frames I5 of the carriers are also provided with supporting rollers l9 located on either jacent turning points to prevent swinging of the carrier.

At the turning points and inwardly of the chain wheels, arcuate track rails 2! are provided to guide the mounting rollers l1 around the turning point, the tracks 2| being disposed relatively to the chain wheel so that there is a local increase in the pitch of the carrier mountings sufllcient to afford the desired clearance as they pass around the turning point.

A second arcuate guiding track 22 is provided at each turning point to engage the outer side of the mounting rollers l1 and these outer tracks are consequently of correspondingly increased dimension as compared with the inner tracks 2 I.

The inner tracks 2| are ofiset laterally relatively to the track rails I I (see Figure 3) so that in the turning position the supporting rollers I!) cannot engage the track 2|.

As the mounting rollers I! pass downwardly around a turning point their support will be transferred from the inner track 2| to the outer track 22 which will entirely take their weight off the inner track as the rollers pass under the chain wheels.

The arcuate tracks 2|, 22 are merged in the horizontal and parallel tracks for guiding the carrier roller mountings in parallel and horizontal paths in the straight runs of the conveyer. Thus the outer arcuate track 22 will merge into a horizontal run below each turning point sprocket l3 and will be joined with the inner track at the next (lower) succeeding turning point. Similarly the inner tracks'zl merge with the horizontal track portion ll above each turning point axis. The upper end 22a of each outer track 22 may be flared or curved upwardly to afiord a smooth leadin for the mounting wheels [1 and which may be positioned adjacent the vertical axial plane of the chain wheels or to one side thereof as shown, while the inner track may terminate adjacent the 180 or vertical position below the axis of the chain wheel outwardly thereof, to the left in Fig. '1.

It will be noted that the outer arcuate'track 22 merges into the horizontal track Ha on a-plane lower than the corresponding track II and in order that the carriers shall rise to the level of the track ll an inclined track is provided. This inclined track comprises a part 1 lb and a laterally offset part Ilc. Thepart lib is adapted to be engaged by the mounting roller I? while the part H is adapted to be engaged by the leading roller I9, the carrier being thereby maintained level while rising up the incline.

As the radius of the chain wheels l3 has been chosen to be as small as possible, it will be appreciated that the horizontal runs of the mounting rollers I1 will be relatively close together and point, however, the mounting rollers take a path diverging spirally from and exterior to the path of the chains so that they rise up an incline to the horizontal as they leave the turning point. Hence at each turning point the roller mountings travel in a radius greater than that of the sprockets.

In the straight runs of the conveyor it will be obvious that the carriers I!) travel at uniform pitch and in predetermined relationship with one another, and it will be appreciated that as the arcuate track or path followed by the carrier roller mountings at the turning points has a curvature substantially greater than that of the pitch circle of the sprocket wheel, the pitch of the carriers at the turning point Will be materially increased and consequently afiord a proportionately greater clearance between the carriers so that the goods thereon and the comers of the carriers will not foul in transit from one lap to the next.

Swinging of the trays when in the horizontal or straight runs of the conveyer is prevented by the rollers (or projections) l9 which contact with the rails H or with a shelf -or auxiliary rail running parallel with a narrower rail for the mounting rollers, 'these rails being interrupted at the turning points to enable the carriers to progressively change their relative position to the chains and maintain their horizontal position.

In applying the invention to the cooling of bread the carriers may simply consist of a slatted shelf suspended from vertical end plates or frames connected to the mounting rollers as already described. 7

Where the invention is applied in respect of other articles, pans, trays or buckets may be suspended or mounted in a similar manner from rollers or projecting arms or levers as indicated above and shown in Figs. 1-3, supported on tracks or rails and propelled by the chains or supported on the chains which in turn are carried by tracks or rails.

We claim:

A conveyer comprising an endless traveling chain movable through superposed runs and around sprockets at turning points'between runs, swinging carriers drawn in close order by said chain in paths below the chain runs having each a mounting roller at its axis of suspension, links pivotally connecting the axes of said mounting rollers to the chain, stationary tracks between the turning points for supporting and guiding said rollers and carriers, and curved guiding tracks for said rollers at the turning points extending outside of and of average radius greater than the pitch radius of said sprockets, so that said links, rollers, and carriers are drawn behind the point of attachment of the links to the chain through a curved path greater in its maximum vertical extent than the vertical spacing between the chains, whereby the clearance between carriers is increased while they'pass from one run to another.

LAURENCE SEYMOUR HARBER. JOHN EDWARD POINTON. 

